| Author | Message | ||
     Zane |
Have an issue I’m hoping someone can give me an insight on. I let my son ride my 09 XT last night. He’s ridden it maybe 2 or three times now but he’s got lots of miles on other motorcycles so he’s not a complete novice. Somewhere along the way a bolt in the shifter linkage fell out. Not that big a deal, it happened once before about 2 years and I keep a spare in the tank bag. In pulled over and put the new one in, no big deal. It also fell out further down the road since I didn’t pack any Loctite. He tried to just get it moving to limp home but from a start he couldn’t get it moving in fourth gear. I don’t know if he was gentle with it or redlined it and dumped the clutch but now it won’t move at all. He called me and I bought another bolt, installed it and gave it a try. It starts and runs fine but won’t move. I tried going through the gears. It feels like it’s dropping into gear but when I let out the clutch, there is no friction point and it never even offers to move on its own. Doesn’t matter what get it’s in it acts like the clutch is hung up in the unengaged mode. I do see the neutral light come one when it’s in the correct position. Anyway, it took a couple of hours with a friend’s pickup truck to get it home and safe in the garage. I’m guessing he’s fried the clutch assembly. Anyone got any ideas? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Yeah. I'll wager there are some sad looking plates in there. | ||
| Motorbike |
Is the drive belt missing? Did the lip break off on the primary casting? | ||
| Zane |
Yeah, I'm thinking the clutch is toast. Motorbike, that's a valid question and one of the first things I checked. I haven't opened up anything yet so can't say if the primary casting lip is damaged. All I know is this is gonna be expensive... | ||
| Motorbike |
It just seems like it would take more than just one incident of slipping the clutch a little to burn it up that bad. Can you ask your son what he was doing or how the bike acted when it quit trying to move? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed, these clutches are seriously stout. Could it have been a low side or a drop? That pawl assembly / shifter post / post webbing can bend in a minor drop. You don't need to split the cases, just pull the primary cover and remove the clutch assembly / stator bell / primary chain as a unit. Then you can see that shifter post support and the pawls and shift drum posts. Does it feel like it binds when you try and shift. | ||
| Zane |
Reepicheep, No, it doesn't feel like it's binding or hanging up when I move through the gears. I road the bike about 2 weeks ago before the cold weather set in and it seemed normal to me. Any idea what a clutch replacement will cost if I decide to have HD do it? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Nothing is cheap at the dealer. It does take a special tool or two, but nothing unusual. I think the parts are $100 to $200. If you want to save some labor, it isn't hard to get the entire clutch assembly as a unit out of the bike and in a bag, and then somebody could just rebuild that for you. You will need a couple of large sockets, a large torque wrench, and a scrap aluminum or brass plate. You could kludge it without the torque wrench if you have a breaker bar and will do some simple math. | ||
| Hughlysses |
If the lip was broken off the primary casing, the clutch wouldn't DISENGAGE. He has the opposite problem. It would definitely be worth removing the clutch cover and doing a full (major and minor) clutch adjustment before he starts tearing into it. If that makes no difference, I'd say odds are good it's a cooked clutch. | ||
| Zane |
Yeah. This weekend I'll have to tear into it. I have a torque wrench so that's no problem. I'm inclined not to blame my son. A clutch doesn't cook itself that bad in a matter of 30 miles or so. It must have been coming on gradual and he just happened to be in the seat when it happened. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
If the bike is in gear, and the clutch left engaged, is it easy to push the bike? Try elevating the rear wheel and running the bike. Shift gears and see if there is any drive at all. For a clutch to go from full drive, to no drive, in no time at all does not sound too much like a cooked clutch. More like something stripped or broken. Unless the adjuster has slipped and is holding the clutch open. | ||
| Zane |
Mark, No matter what position the gear shift is in, the bike is easy to push. I'm hoping it's something simple but the way my luck has been running lately I don't expect that...lol. OK, here's the deal. I just recently put an ECM in the bike, it's got a clutch/transmission issue and is currently not ridable. Even with all the hassle I still LOVE this bike. | ||
| Motorbike |
Zane, please do not think I was insinuating that your son broke the bike. I was just thinking a little more info would not hurt. I really doubt a clutch would burn up that quickly. Also, as Hughlysses stated, a broken lip on the primary casting would not cause these symptoms, but just the opposite. It would not disengage if broken. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Quite the mystery! Let us know what it turns out to be. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Splines on the front belt pulley / output shaft? | ||
| Zane |
That's a thought. I haven't looked at the front pully yet. Once I have an answer, I'll let everyone know. | ||
| Hughlysses |
It'll be interesting to see what you find. Hopefully it'll turn out to just need a clutch adjustment. | ||
| Arcticktm |
If you do need to replace the plates, check out my 2007 experience doing so in the Knowledge Vault: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/456488.html?1360951331 I do not have the same "it is robust" opinion of the clutch, based on my experience toasting mine during 1 ride on a short jeep trail. Tall stock gearing required feathering the clutch and it stranded me that day. I have the lower XB9 gearing now. I am an experienced ex-enduro racer, so maybe I just expect a clutch to hold up like all my dirt bikes did. Oh well. I did the clutch myself with aftermarket plates (see warnings in KV post). Save a lot of money, as I recall dealer will want over $500! I did it for about half, even including buying extra HD parts to make up for the Energy One problems. Still running fine, with the lower primary gearing. For special tools, you only need a diaphragm spring compressor. I got a non-HD version that worked OK (once I cleaned up the threads). I think about $40 online? For the gearing change, I bought the entire set of parts and a "lockup bar" from American Sportbike. Then you just need a big LH torque wrench (something like 250 ft-lbs) and some red Loc-Tite. You don't need that stuff just to change clutch plates though. Changing clutch plates is pretty easy with the spring compressor tool. Just make sure to measure your clutch plate stack before assembly if you use non-HD parts. See the spreadsheet in my KV post for details. And soak the new fiber plates in your favorite clutch oil for several hours before assembly. | ||
| Zane |
I don't have any plans to move away from stock. I never leave the pavement unless I set up poorly for a turn. I'll be keeping everything stock. Didn't tear into it last weekend as planned because of house guest. It's colder than all get out right now but want to get this taken care of soon. If there's a break in the weather, I want to be ready to take advantage of it. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Bumping thread. I'm pretty curious as to what the issue is here. | ||
| Zane |
Been short on time but so far adjusting the clutch has taken care of the problem. I still want to give the clutch/pressure plate an inspection but it's back alive with just an adjustment. I have no idea what happened. | ||
| Nillaice |
maybe he stopped mid-ride and mis-adjsted the clutch just to mess with you? ... you know how meddling those pesky kids can be sometimes.  try it out in 5th gear (cruising along as fast as you can safely take it up to) and see if the clutch slips when you whack the throttle wide open. | ||
| Zane |
That may have to wait a bit. By quiting time tonight it will be in the low 30's and going down to the low 20's tonight. I should have never left Florida.... | ||
| Nillaice |
If it's worse off it may slip in lower gears and at lower speeds. Pushing a lot if wind in 5th gear and higher in the rpms is the most torque the clutch sees, so that's the 'test' I feel ya. It's supposed to be in the teens local to me tonight. Hippo hands (or knock-offs) make a huge difference | ||
| Zane |
Well, I have the XT back on the road. The clutch cable was adjusted as was the primary chain. It shifts properly now and seems fine. Didn't see any other issue with the clutch at all. Rode it for about 40 minutes Saturday afternoon, with temps in the low 20's. Everything is fine now. I was just about blue by the time I made it back to the garage. Just about froze my arse off. Now there is 1.5 inches of snow on the ground. No riding in the forseeable future for me. I never should have left the south. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Glad it turned out to be a simple, free fix. Maybe it was at the edge of being out-of-adjustment before the incident, and a little abuse in that situation pushed it to the point of full-out slippage. I suspect it'll be fine. | ||
| Motorbike |
I never should have left the south It's 1 degree F here in SE Minnesota right now so it is warming up a bit. I'm done for the season, bike is in storage until around end of May or April.  (Message edited by motorbike on December 09, 2013) | ||
| Zane |
Hugh, Think you hit the nail on the head. It has right at 19k and hasn't been adjusted since the 10k maintenance. Unless we have a warm spell, I'm done for the season too. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and spent almost all my life in Florida. This 12 degree crap has got to go. About 2 inches of snow on the ground right now. I didn't sign up for this |
